I change my motherboard and now my windows 11 pro license showing invalid

Question

I change my motherboard and now my windows 11 pro license showing invalid

Yash Mathur 0

My motherboard was faulty, so i needed to change but after doing so, my license got invalid, i try troubleshooting then choose hardware change still nothing helped

Can you please help me in this case? I dont wanna spend another 5000 INR for another license when i just purchased an new motherboard

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3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Pavle Peković 6,850 Volunteer Moderator

Please, follow the instructions from this article: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/activation/reactivating-windows-after-a-hardware-change

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Answer 2

Neil D 34,280 Volunteer Moderator

Changing the motherboard will prompt for a transfer of the licence that was assigned to the old motherboard. From an activation point of view it is a new device.

So it depends where the licence came from originally.
Was it provided by the system builder/manufacturer.
Did you buy a Windows 11 licence. (if so from where, Microsoft or a 3rd party)
Was it a free upgrade from Windows 10. If so was it originally a free upgrade from Windows 7/8.

Yash Mathur 0 Reputation points

2026-09-04T10:52:53.6733333+00:00

It was purchased from certified retailer. And it was window 11 Pro license
Neil D 34,280 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-09-04T15:09:54.72+00:00

So it came with a product key. Get ShowKeyPlus from the windows Store and enter the product key at Check edition in the app.

Does the result describe the licence as Windows 11 Pro Retail or something else?
Yash Mathur 0 Reputation points

2026-09-04T15:16:11.9733333+00:00

It shows win 10 RTM Professional OEM:DM

Answer 3

Neil D 34,280 Volunteer Moderator

You have purchased an OEM licence. It does not have transfer rights. Changing the motherboard is a new device (from an activation point of view) you will need a new licence.

The best thing is to ensure you have a retail licence. A retail licence DOES have transfer rights.

Microsoft supply fully supported retail licences. Check the widows Store via the activation page in Settings by selecting Go to Store.

Yash Mathur 0 Reputation points

2026-09-04T15:36:15.97+00:00

What to do after going to store? It took me to purchase an license which is 150$
Neil D 34,280 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-09-04T15:43:28.94+00:00

Then you need to buy the licence.

It will be a digital purchase so it is registered against the account you use to sign-in (to windows) and use for the Store. When you sign-in to windows it will activate automatically.
Yash Mathur 0 Reputation points

2026-09-04T15:59:44.2+00:00

Its too expensive
Neil D 34,280 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-09-04T16:06:28.3866667+00:00

That is the price of a supported licence. There are a lot of items online but are not supported at a reduced price.

I see the price you quoted is in India. This is a very low price even for an OEM licence, which are cheaper than a retail product. Microsoft do not discount their licences.